I seem to have a problem with moderating myself when it comes to playtime on Video Games, How do you keep yourself from just endlessly playing games?
Multiplayer games in general are hard to regulate. MMO’s, Mobas, FPS, ARPGs. This games are designed to swallow weeks of your life before you react. When I stopped playing these type of games it didn’t become as much of a problem to regulate my gaming.
Write down what an optimal day for someone your age, in your living area, looks like. Weekly activities. Exercise. Etc. Start implementing the we things into your life at a pace that isn’t to slow but not too fast either.
Set goals what most of your days should consist of. Most days. Don’t set routines that are too nailed down. Don’t go overboard. Excersise three times a week? Two days need to be back to back but the third can be anytime during the week? Things like that.
Work this into your routine. Take one step at a time.
If I regret one thing at the age of 37 it would be not having some kind of exercise in my weekly routine from my early 20s. I would be in sooo much better shape, have more energy, be more alert.
Balance in everything is key.
@hogart Thank you, Even know I don’t have issues with weight (at least not over weight) this is really helpful. I know I can’t go full cold turkey over the games otherwise I fall back into them hard and it’s good to see other people say to slowly get myself off them. Luckily I never have got into the MMO side of things as I’m sure I wouldn’t even be messaging to people online at the point, I mainly play round-based games such as CounterStrike, limiting my play and replacing it with something else slowly is probably the way to go. Thank you.
Honestly, mine came about organically with other responsibilities and interests.
Earlier on, I’d moderated myself but picking up another hobby, like playing bass guitar and adding that into my priorities.
Once out of college, other priorities, like making better than decent meals, my significant other, and continuing my tabletop RPG crew kinda helped me stop spending endless weekend or day off hours on a game.
Probably, the largest piece for me is having a family and a friend group that I care to keep up with. When I was younger, I escaped through games, but now I use them more like how I use a book or TV series and look for experiences I’ll find meaningful instead of just grinding rep or xp points in a loop.
@iltoroargento Thank you, I feel like pushing for some of the other hobbies I have such as Video Editing is a more healthy way to express myself. Sometimes it feels like I just get swallowed by the idea of gaming.
Do you play games, or do you play a game endlessly. If it’s games then it might be easier to sprinkle other activities into the mix like learning to play a musical instrument, etc. If it’s a game, especially if it’s a live service game, MMO, hatch’s, etc, then they might have successfully tapped into “your formula”, in which case if recommend dropping the game entirely. Games like that are specifically designed to keep you playing indefinitely.
Source: I’m a former Destiny addict.
@JoMiran I luckily haven’t got into MMOs as of yet, it seems that I end up playing different games but will play each one endlessly the main problem is that I use gaming as a way to relax from stress but then lose myself inside of it. The more I look at it, the more I feel I need therapy over it as it seems like a addiction I will most likely not get out of without help.
As a lifetime gamer (40s) staying away from ‘service’ games with an endless endgame really does help for self regulation. If there is ‘a game’ that you just zonk out on the gameplay loop thats the blurst. If I get a game I like it to be a game with a conrete ending now, there is a ‘final’ final boss, there is a dungeon meant to be the last challege. If it’s just ‘SUPER HARD AREA X WITH DROPRATE OF THING YOU WANT’ fuck that. Especially if you hear game dev talk about having to design these kind of casino models really turns you off to them.
@FunkyMonk I’m glad I never have really got into MMOs. Thank you, I’ll most likely have to seek help but hopefully with some of the things people have suggested I can at least take the first steps to helping my life.
So true, I have to do this with some predatory mobile game or another every year or two. Sometimes one of them just gets you.
I don’t moderate myself. I do whatever I want to do because I’m an adult. As long as your bills are paid and you are satisfied with your life who cares?
Play until you have one foot in the grave. That’s my plan anyways. You’ll need to bury me with my gaming pc.
@NumbersCanBeFun Hey, So my main problem isn’t that my life isn’t ‘paid’ for, I’ve been registered as never being able to work due to my Autism and Fibromyalgia and have moved out of my parents place. My goals are to feel more to feel accomplished by doing some tasks I feel like need to or could be done in my life such as Video Editing being a big passion, making that into a career of some kind.
I feel as if gaming has taking over my life and is sometimes a way of me finding a way to no get on and do the things I know rather need to be done or should possibly be done. I could easily spend the next 30+ years of my life playing games day in and day out on autopilot but rather take control of at-least some of my life without 100% giving up gaming as it still helps me relax.
Video editors can get paid by content creators.
Follow your passions. Do what you want.
@Enzy That’s the goal, thanks.
Real gamer right here.
Words to live by.
Short attention span leading to doing gaming in short bursts. Sometimes I lose interest in games for months and get more into the mood to watch TV shows and movies. Then lose interest in that and move to reading then lose interest in that and going back to gaming. Rinse and repeat. Has helped me avoid the whole not having fun with games anymore threads that I’d see a lot, since my focus just naturally shifts back and forth to keep things feeling fresh.
@NightOwl I seem to go through a similar cycle, that or I end up merging my gaming with also watching the shows / movies I want to watch. I’m more trying to make time for things such as Video Editing as well as other ‘hobbie’ based things that are more likely to earn money.
I make games a fallback activity. If I can go be social, I’ll pick that instead. I date people so I try to spend time with them.
I set timers. Every hour or two the timer goes off, and I have to go do something else. Either something productive like an errand or just something not on the computer.
I have a full time job. I never play games when I’m supposed to be working. I work from home so it would be easy to fire up the other computer and play a little between work stuff, but that’s a horrible idea so I don’t.
I have a self imposed bed time. I had to use an alarm for this for a while but now it’s just habit. Also I’m getting old so I get tired sooner.
By staying the fuck away from MMOs. 😂 🙃
@FoundTheVegan I don’t actually play any MMOs, never have really grabbed my attention but still doesn’t stop me from endlessly playing games due to them being Round-Based or never-ending games like Minecraft. Thanks for the advice though.
Depression? Don’t try that at home, would not recommend!
@Scrof Oh don’t worry already went through a lot of Depression, it seems to be one of the reasons I play Video Games. To ‘escape’ from the real world it’s just getting in the way of some of the things that might make me happy such as Video Editing.
It’s pretty self moderating. Every 5 years or so there’s a game i might be mildly interested in, play it for a few hours until I’m bored of it. Rinse and repeat
I don’t like being interrupted while gaming so as a student I study till a certain hour than I do whatever (maybe gaming) till 11PM
@WeLoveCastingSpellz I find if I even tried doing that I wouldn’t stop after 11 lol
Maybe lay off video games for a while till you manage to accumulate a level of willpower that lets you cobtroll yourself easier while gaming. At your situation professional help from someone who knows about this shit might be better help.
@WeLoveCastingSpellz I tried to go full ‘Cold Turkey’ before but it just made me even worse and fell in even harder than I normally am to the point I was staying up for days on end just playing games. I know I need to seek professional help but it costs.
I tend to hyperfixate. So I got into habit of getting up every 3 hours, going outside, walk around block. I will say to self, get up, right now, out of this chair, outside, now. Been doing this so long now, it’s become habit, part of daily routine. Has helped a lot.
@31415926535 That’s a good way, I saw somewhere sometimes just starting the smallest part of another task especially things like washing up and stuff can set you to do the whole thing in one go sometimes and if not if you come back to it in an hour or so, your mind might just go “Oh, Theres less, let’s slowly finish it through the day” so you keep on coming back to the task. Thank you, I’ll see how I can do this in my life.
Listen, if you are neglecting your household chores or other important duties, then it doesn’t really matter how much time you spend playing games. Time you enjoyed spending is never wasted, and if you enjoy playing games on your downtime, then do it.
@AphoticDev It not only get’s in the way of household chores but also physical health ones that I should be doing.
Hire a cleaner if you can afford it. Then integrate exercise into gaming, like Pokemon Go or high intensity VR games.
@Kit Exercise isn’t the problem as I’m actually really underweight and can’t put it on. It’s more the case of making sure to take showers, eating and getting fresh air, stuff like that.
If your gaming addiction is impacting your self care to that level you need to seek therapy. It will help.
@Kit I understand therapy will help me in the long run it’s just unaffordable as of the moment, as soon as I can afford it I will be getting regular therapy sessions as I really do need them.
Check for low income mental health clinics. They tend to offer counseling and sometimes therapy by volunteers.
When you get older it gets harder and harder to play video games frequently.
@kandoh I’m 21, Moved out of home and don’t have to work… I have nothing but time and that’s the problem.
That’s nothing to feel guilty about as long as you’re not neglecting trying to find a job and self improvement. Your 20s are rough, all opportunities available are pretty shitty and exploit your energy and inexperience. Videogames are a great way to stay sane during this.
I can maybe squeeze in an hour of gaming every third day if I am efficient (work and household stuff) and lucky. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, just there are many games I want to experience so I have to be very selective.
For me, it’s that a game is a big time and energy investment. I’m hesitant to jump in.
@kandoh That’s what I’m normally like for bigger games but then I always find some game that can just fill up my time to the point I’ve paid twice the amount of time the ‘Big’ game would have.
Be careful with games without stopping points. Also be aware of the games that engross you in a way that you just lose track of time, play them only when you can get lost like that.
Find a hobby to do on the side that you can use, maybe something with progression so you have something to focus on and track progress to keep you wanting to do that and not just stick to playing games. Something like drawing, learning an instrument, maybe even exercise, whether it be standard gym stuff or something else like skating or bouldering. If you still want to stick around a computer for whatever reason, maybe learn to code? Having a creative outlet will help loads to keep you from games if you gave troubles endlessly paying them because too start getting the creative itches that makes you want to get something done related to that hobby.
@MrScottyTay Thanks yeah one thing that I hope to replace my time with is Video Editing it’s been something that I really enjoy when I’ve done it in the past and I think it’s time to focus on that more than games.
